Hi Machiel. It's the green, sometimes yellowy "stuff" that you find on trees that isn't a moss and isn't a plant. Pronounced lie-chen (the ch is like the ch at the end of loch - as said by a real Scot that is )

Maybe this will help you, but be warned - it's not easy to talk about lichen without a load of science coming in.

fiona wrote:t. Pronounced lie-chen (the ch is like the ch at the end of loch - as said by a real Scot that is )

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I 've had this debate before ,I call it Lichen with a 'c' for cat. i'm sure you are probably right though. what do i know about words.I say fungi with a g for gorilla. I have heard it as g for giraffe. Is there a correct way.

fiona wrote:t. Pronounced lie-chen (the ch is like the ch at the end of loch - as said by a real Scot that is )

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I 've had this debate before ,I call it Lichen with a 'c' for cat. i'm sure you are probably right though. what do i know about words.I say fungi with a g for gorilla. I have heard it as g for giraffe. Is there a correct way.

I would say the same but don't want to confuse people who are fans of the Underworld films.

A lichen is a symbiotic structure composed of an alga and a fungus, but it is classified as if it were a single organism. The algae that develop on damp trunks & rocks look like a green film without any structure. They are an indication of too much water & not enough light or air circulation. Moss also sometimes develops under the same conditions. It looks like green fur. If it is on your trunk, brush it off with a stiff brush.A lichen looks like a tiny branch, a lumpy pebble, a leaf, or something else three dimensional. Lichens may be green, white, yellow, red, brown, or gray, maybe other colors. If they happen to grow on your bonsai, they add to the appearance of age. They are harmless, but I don't know how to attract them on purpose.Iris

bobby little wrote:all over one side of my larch, which is the only presentable tree I've got. Is this a problem as far as the tree's health is concerned? I think it looks pretty groovy myself.

I know a lot of people think it is great, but in NZ we can get it growing so well, it chokes the needles and can stop back-budding on pines and cedars Imparting age is ok, but too much of anything is bad

As far as I know, most lichens require very pure air to survive. Having them in abundance in NZ comes as no surprise.

Most are very slow growing, to the point that certain species can be used to age archaeological sites. They start as a small dot, develop into a larger circle and eventually become O shaped and increase in diameter at a fairly steady rate over millennia.

I've got some on the floor of a forest planting that looks very good and a different type on a Larches branches. I'll try to get macro shots.

_________________“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin.

There are some very good field guides if you don't want a scientific treatise on lichens but do want to know what you're looking at. The best ones I've seen are by the Field Studies Council (you can find the web address FSC HERE ). There is a guide for urban lichens on trees, another on stone and soil as well as a rather splendidly-named one - Graveyard Lichens.

It's a fascinating subject - who'd have thought there were so many types of as I heard it described "that green crud that grows on trees". I do like the sound of urban lichens - metropolitan cool dudes in Armani suits. Wonder if they wear their loafers with or without socks?